heteronym

American  

[het-er-uh-nim] / ˈhɛt ər ə nɪm /

noun

1. a word spelled the same as another but having a different sound and meaning, as lead (to conduct) and lead (a metal).

---

heteronym British  

/ ˈhɛtərəʊˌnɪm, ˌhɛtəˈrɒnɪməs /

noun

1. one of two or more words pronounced differently but spelt alike Compare homograph

   the two English words spelt ``bow'' are heteronyms

---

Other Word Forms

• heteronymous adjective
• heteronymously adverb

Etymology

Origin of heteronym

From the Late Greek word heterṓnymos, dating back to 1880–85. See hetero-, -onym

Explanation

Heteronyms are words that look the same but have different sounds and meanings. See if you can spot the heteronyms in this sentence: "She got a bull's eye with her bow and arrow, then took a triumphant bow." Heteronym is derived from the Greek heteros, "different," and onoma, "name." English is full of these confusing words, which language learners have to deduce from their context. "Don't stand too close while I close the door." Close, meaning "near," and close, meaning "shut," are heteronyms. "When I tear my favorite jeans, I shed a tear or two." Tear, meaning "rip," and tear, the drop that slides down your cheek when you're sad, are heteronyms, too.

Example Sentences

“Countless lives inhabit us,” his heteronym Ricardo Reis proclaims atop the poem “I’m Missing,” a paean to multivalence: “I’m more than one. / It’s too fun for me.”

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2021

I remember once when a heteronym caused me much amusement.

From Washington Post • May 28, 2021

Thanks to John Ficarra for the present in his May 16 Sunday Opinion essay, “How I wound up with a wound from heteronyms,” of a new word to add to my vocabulary: heteronym.

From Washington Post • May 28, 2021

He spent a lifetime exploring the multiplicity of his inner self this way, using a literary idea he called heteronym to write in many styles as different people with rich backstories.

From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2016

Each heteronym was given a biography, psychology, politics, religion, even physical description, and the main characters were interconnected.

From The Guardian • Dec. 4, 2010